Questions
Frequently asked
What this is, where the numbers come from, and what we will not say.
What is this?
A weekly reading of the US shell-egg market, plus always-current data pages: the national large white benchmark, regional prices, the cage-free premium, weekly inventory, and an HPAI tracker. Built for the people who buy eggs for a living, bakery and foodservice procurement, distributors, grocers, and producers, who need the number without digging through six separate USDA reports.
Where does the data come from?
Public USDA Agricultural Marketing Service Egg Market News reports for prices and inventory, and USDA APHIS confirmed detections for the HPAI tracker. Every page names its source. No private trade data and no paid index.
What is the benchmark egg price?
The USDA national 5-day weighted average for large, white, loose shell eggs, in cents per dozen. It is the number the trade quotes. This site shows it, its week-over-week and year-over-year moves, and the regional and cage-free prices around it.
Why are egg prices high (or low) right now?
Egg supply runs year-round, so a big price move is almost always a supply story: HPAI removing layer flocks, the slow rebuild afterward, or the shift of production to cage-free. Demand is seasonal on top of that, peaking for holiday baking and Easter. Our HPAI tracker and inventory pages show the supply side, and the benchmark page shows where price sits versus a year ago.
Why do you not show a five-year normal for prices?
USDA rebuilt its shell-egg price reporting in early 2025, so the negotiated price series only go back to then. There is not yet enough history for an honest five-year normal on prices, so we lead with week-over-week and year-over-year instead. Inventory has been reported for years, so its pages do carry a real five-year band.
How does bird flu affect the price?
When a commercial layer flock tests positive for HPAI, the entire flock is depopulated, which can pull millions of laying hens out of supply in a matter of days. Repopulating takes months. So detections tighten supply fast and ease it slowly. We track USDA APHIS confirmed detections in commercial layer flocks, with the affected-bird counts APHIS publishes, and report them factually.
How often is it updated?
USDA publishes the daily and weekly egg reports on their own schedules; inventory is weekly. The pages pull a trailing window and update, and a Monday brief reads the prior week. Every page shows a data date and a Last updated stamp.
Is this trading or purchasing advice?
No. This is a reading of public USDA and APHIS data as published, and how it compares over time. We do not forecast prices, and we never tell anyone when to buy, contract, or hedge. Decisions are yours, with your own judgment.